Automatic record changer



United States Patent John A. Tourtellot Indianapolis, Indiana [211 App]. No. 717,614

[22] Filed April 1, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 8, 1970 [73] Assignee RCA Corporation a corporation of Delaware [72] inventor [54] AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER 4 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs.

[52] [1.8. CI. 274/10 Gllb 17/00 [50] Field of Search 274/10 [561' References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,701,721 2/1955 Mullaney 274/10 3,l97,2 l 2 7/1965 De Weese 274/10 Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Attorney-Eugene W. Whitacre ABSTRACT: A simplified phonograph record changer mechanism is provided wherein after the last record has been played, the changers reciprocating cycling slide is caused to be shifted sideways and coact with means operable to effect power shutoff.

PATENTEU um 81976 3545767 sum 1 or 5 INVENTOI? John Affiurfellot' SHEET 3 BF 5 A 7' TORIIE Y AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGER This invention relates to automatic record changers and more particularly to control and cycling mechanisms for said changers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved automatic record changer mechanism which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture at low cost, and reliable in operation.

An automatic record changer constructed in accordance with the invention includes a cycling slide adapted to be reciprocatingly driven toward and away from the central axis of the changer turntable during a record changing operation. Means are provided for causing said cycling slide to be shifted sideways during its reciprocating excursion following the playing of a last record on the'turntable and in response to said slide shift to cause said phonograph record changer to be electrically deenergized.

The novel features which are considered to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation as as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description when read in connection with the ac companying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front top plan view of a record changer constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 1a, lb and 1c are diagrammatic elevation views of the record changer showing different positions of the changer tone arm during a cycling operation.

FIG. 2 is a. top plan view of the record changer partly broken away showing the position of the cycling mechanism prior to the initiation of a cycling operation with the tone are arm in rest position and the function selector in OFF position.

FIGS. 3a and 3b are respective top plan and side elevation views of the cycling slide member of the changer cycling mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a partial top plan view of the record changer, partly broken away showing the position of the cycling mechanism just after the initiation of a cycling operation and with the function selector in AUTO position.

FIG. 5 is a partial top plan view of the record changer partly broken away showing the position of the cycling mechanism when the tone arm is vertically raised above its rest position just after a record has dropped to the turntable. v

FIG. 6 is a partial 'top plan view of the record changer,

partly broken away showing the position of the cycling mechanism when the tone arm is in its vertically raised position above the lead in groove of a record on the turntable.

FIG. 7 is a partial top plan view of a record changer, partly broken away showing the position of the cycling mechanism when the tone arm is in' the end groove of a record on the turntable and just prior to the initiation of the last record shutoff cycling operation.

FIG. 8 is a partial top plan view of the record changer, partly broken away showing the position of the cycling mechanism with the tone arm in its rest position just before the function selector is caused to move to the OFF position.

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation view of the record changer, illustrating the tone arm elevating pin and cam assembly.

FIG. 10 is rear elevation view of the record changer illustrating the position of the tone arm elevating pin and cam assembly and stabilizer arm and stab shaft just after the last record has dropped to the turntable.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals will be used to indicate the same elements throughout the FIGS., and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 9, the record changer includes a motorboard 20 which supports a rotatable turntable 22. A tone are arm 24 is mounted by means of a pin 26 and swivel bracket 28 on a tone arm shaft 30 for rotation therewith and for pivotal movement in a vertical plane about the pin 26. The tone arm shaft 30 extends through a tubular projection or boss 32 formed on the underside of the motor board. A phonograph pickup, (not shown), is supported near the free end of the tone arm 24.

A record centering spindle 34 projects upwardly from the center of the turntable 22. The spindle 34 includes a shelf portion 36 for supporting a stack of records and a record ejector lever 38 which extends axially along the spindle 34 from a height slightly above the shelf 36 to beneath the motorboard 20. Movement of the ejector lever 38 by the cycling slide to be hereinafter described results in a shifting of the lowermost record supported on the shelf 36 off the shelf so that the record can drop down along the spindle into operative playing relation on the turntable 22.

The record stabilizing arm 40 is mounted in a housing 42 on the motorboard 20 and preferably integrally formed therewith. The arm 40 is mounted to be moved upwardly high enough to clear the top of the spindle 34, and is rotatable to a position clear of the turntable so that records may be loaded on the spindle 34. After loading of one or more records, the stabilizing arm 40 is rotated over the spindle 34 and lowered onto the top record of the stack to maintain the records in a horizontal position. After the last record of the stack has been dropped to the turntable 22, the stabilizing arm 40 drops to a lower position, as shown in FIG. 10, to provide an indication to the automatic record changing mechanism that the last record has dropped to the turntable. The record stabilizing arm 40 includes a stab shaft 44 which extends below the motorboard 20 and cooperates with the record changing mechanism to disable the record changer after the last record has been played, as will hereinafter be explained.

Beneath the motorboard 20 there is supported a motor 46 coupled to a speed change and turntable drive mechanism (not shown) to provide a multiple speed rim drive of the turntable in known manner.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the turntable 22 which is rotatable rotatably mounted on the motorboard 20 includes as an integral part thereof a hub 48 which supports a pinion drive gear 50. The hub 48 has an integrally formed projection 52 between the drive gear 50 and the turntable 22. The drive gear 50 operates the mechanism which effects the automatic record change, and the projection 52 cooperates with other mechanisms to be hereinafter described to provide a velocity tripping mechanism which initiates a record changing cycle.

A cycling gear 54 formed with a central hub 56 having an eccentric portion defining a cam surface 58 is rotatably mounted on the underside of the motorboard 20 in position for driving engagement by the drive gear 50. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the cycling gear 54 has a mutilated portion with no teeth, in registry with the drive gear 50 prior to the initiation of a record changing cycle and during the playing of a record (FIG. 7). Accordingly, the teeth of the drive gear 50 do not mesh with the teeth of the cycling gear 54, and no power is transmitted to the record changing mechanism.

A record size selector cam 62 is mounted for rotation about the motorboard boss 32 and concentric with the tone arm shaft 30. The selector cam 62 is formed with a plurality of steps along the outer surface thereof for determining the swing position of the tone arm 24 according to the diameter of the record to be played. A tab 64 extends from the selector cam through an aperture in the motorboard 20 to provide a means for indicating a selected step position.

An index lever 66 is pivotallysupported on a boss 68 depending from the underside of the motorboard 20. One end of the index lever 66 carries a cam follower 70 biased into cooperative engagement with the cam surface 58 on the cycling gear hub 56 by means of a spring 72. The other end of the index lever is provided with an upstanding tab 74 arranged to engage one of the steps on the size selector cam 62 upon pivotal movement of the index lever 66.

A disc 76 is secured beneath the size selector cam 62 at the end of the motorboard boss 32. Arranged for cooperation with the disc 76 and in opposing relation thereto is a rubber clutch disc 78 frictionally coupled to a tone arm lever 80 and the tone arm shaft 30 for rotation therewith. The tone arm lever 80 carries a pin 82 arranged to engage a shoulder 84 formed in the index lever 66 to effect a horizontal swing movement of the tone arm via its coupling to the tone arm shaft upon pivotal movement of the index lever 66.

Formed on the top surface of the cycling gear 54 near the mutilated portion thereof is a boss 86 pivotally supporting a trip pawl 88. A trip lever 90 is mounted concentrically with a clutch lever 92 on the underside of the motorboard so as to be in coupling relation to the trip pawl 88 when the cycling gear mutilated sector is adjacent the drive gear 50 (FIG. 2). A trip link 94 connects the trip lever 90 to the tone arm lever 80 for coupling movement of the tone arm 24 to the clutched levers 90 and 92, thereby to provide a velocity trip system for actuation of a record changing cycle at the completion of a record playing cycle as will hereinafter be described.

Referring now to FIGS. 3a and 3b along with FIGS. 2 and 9, a cycling slide 96 is mounted for reciprocating movement in a horizontal plane beneath the cycling gear 54. The slide 96 is supported near its center by means of a screw 98 which extends through an elongated slot 100 in the cycling slide 96 into a depending boss 102 on the underside of the motorboard 20. Depending from the bottom surface of the cycling gear 54 and axially offset from the axis of rotation thereof is a boss 104 mounting a pin 106. The pin 106 is received in an elongated slot 108 in the cycling slide 96 to effect reciprocating movement thereof in response to a driven rotation of the cycling gear 54 by the drive gear 50. One end 110 of the cycling slide is cut away to define a finger 112 intermediate a pair of leg members 114. The slide end 110 is supportedly mounted by means of a bracket 116 beneath the turntable hub 48 with the finger 112 positioned to push directly against the lower end of the record ejector lever 38 upon a forward or inward movement of the cycling slide 96. The ejector is normally biased toward the slide finger by means of a tensioned hairpin spring 118. The other end of the slide extends beneath the tone arm mounting and includes an angled portion defining an inclined ramp 120 and an apertured portion 122 receiving a bent over projecting ear portion 124 of the tone arm lever 80. The ramp portion 120 is positioned beneath a tone arm lift pin 126 fitted in the tone arm shaft 30 for free vertical movement therein.

A slide switch 128 for controlling power to the motor 46 is mounted on the motorboard 20. The switch mover 130 extends beneath the motorboard and is coupled to an actuating control or function selector 132 by means of a control lever I34 and operating lever 136 assembly mounted for horizontal movement in the direction of its longitudinal axis. A shutoff lever 138 is mounted above the cycling slide 96 in coupling relation to the control lever 134. A spring 140 is connected so as to urge the lever 138 in the direction of the control lever 134. As can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, a boss portion 142 of the selector 132 is pinned to a slot 144 in the operating lever 136 so that clockwise rotation of the selector from the indicated oFF position (FIG. 2) to the AUTO position (FIG. 4) pushes the operating lever 136 forward. The operating lever in turn is resting on the control lever 134 so that a dependent ear 146 of the operating lever 136 which is received in a complimentary cutout 148 in the control lever carries the control lever forward in response to a forward movement of the operating lever 136 and against the bias ofa spring 150. As the control lever moves forward, a corner edge 152 thereof which was engaging a first stop projection 154 on the shutoff lever 138 (FIG. 2) is carried forward to engage second 156 stop projection on the shutoff lever 138 (FIG. 4) which has in turn moved toward the control lever 134 during the interval that the control lever edge 152 was between stop projections. At the same time, the switch mover 130 which is in contact with a cam surface 157 in the control lever 134 is allowed to move down the cam surface 157 in a direction transverse to the movement of the control lever, thereby turning the switch 128 to its ON position and energizing the motor 46. Likewise turning the function selector in a counterclockwise direction from OFF, or going into the manual (MAN) position allows the switch mover 130 to ride down the other side of the cam surface 157 to energize the motor for manual play.

To initiate a record-changing cycle. the function n selector 132 is momentarily rotated clockwise about 30 past the AUTO indicating position, so that a depending car 158 on the control lever 134 is caused to push against the trip pawl 88 and pivot it into engagement with the turntable hub projection 52 which rotates with the drive gear 50 (FIG. 4). The rotation of the projection 52 against the trip pawl 88 causes the cycling gear 54 to be rotated so that the teeth of the cycling gear mesh with those of the drive gear 50, and the index lever cam follower 70 rides out of a detent notch 59 on the cam surface 58 of the cycling gear hub 56. As the cycling gear 54 starts to rotate, in a clockwise direction as viewed in the FIGS. the cycling slide 96 starts an inward motion. This is due to the pin 106 extending downward from the cycling gear 54 and traveling in the elongated slot 108 in the slide 96. During a record changing cycle, the cycling gear will complete one revolution, and the slide 96 will perform one complete excursion (inward and outward) of travel.

As the cycling slide 96 starts inward, the tone arm lift pin 126 is caused to engage and ride up the inclined ramp portion to the horizontally disposed portion 121 of the slide 96 (FIGS. 3a and 9). The upward movement of the lift pin 126 causes the top end of the pin to push against the tone arm 24 and raise it vertically from its rest position. The vertical movement of the lift pin 126 also pushes the tone arm shaft 30 upward through a spring 160 to cause the rubber clutch disc 78 to come into contact with the'disc 76 extension of the motorboard boss 32 and add a frictional drag to overcome the tone arm inertia during lateral movement thereof as will next be described.

As the cycling slide 96 approaches its most inward position corresponding to a one half revolution of the cycling gear 54, the slide finger 112 is brought into engagement with the extended lower end of the spindle record ejector lever 38 to push the ejector lever forward, causing it to pivot in a manner to displace the lowermost record supported on the spindle shelf off the shelf into alignment with the major portion of the spindle, whereupon the lowermost record drops to the turntable (FIGS. 5 and 10). At the same time, and if for example a recycling record changing operation has been initiated and the tone arm is poised above a record just played, the back closed edge 162 of the slide aperture 122 engages a depending ear portion 124 of the tone arm lever 80. The tone arm lever 80 is thereby rotated and the tone arm 24 is caused to swing horizontally outward from the turntable 22 until stopped by the action of the tone arm lever pin 82 engaging the shoulder edge 84 of the index lever 66. As the cycling gear 54 continues to rotate, the cycling slide 96 reverses its direction of travel, and the curvature of the cam surface 58 on the cycling gear hub 56 which is being tracked by the cam follower 70 on the other end of the index lever 66 causes the index lever to pivot about the boss 68 and against the force of the spring 72. This action urges the pin 82 in a direction to rotate the tone arm lever 80 so that the free end of the tone arm 24 is moved horizontally inward toward the record to be played. The tone arm movement continues until the tap 74 on the index lever 66 engages one of the steps on the size selector cam 62 (FIG. 6). These steps are at different radii and are proportionate to the lead-in groove landing sizes of the records to be played. This insures that when the tone arm is swung out over the record to be played, it is set to land properly on the lead-in groove of the size record selected.

Continued inward movement of the cycling slide 96 now in an outward direction causes the tone arm lift pin 126 to ride down the inclined ramp 120, thereby lowering the tone arm toward the turntable to permit the phonograph pickup stylus to engage the lead-in groove of the record to be played whereupon the tone arm lift pin is at the end or bottom of the ramp thereby disengaging the clutched discs 76 and 78, and the slide will have completed one inward and outward excursion. At this time the index lever cam follower 70 will have fallen into the notch 59 in the hub cam 58 and the mutilated (toothless) sector of the cycling gear will be opposite the drive gear 50, thereby referencing the cycling gear to its out of cycle position.

After the playing of a record has been completed, the relatively rapid motion of the tone arm toward the center of the record causes a relatively rapid pivotal movement of the trip pawl 88 due to its engagement with the clutch lever 92 and the coupling between the trip lever 90 via and trip link 94 to the tone arm lever 80. The trip pawl 88 is thereby made to positively engage the rotating projection 52 above the drive gear 50, and causes the cycling gear 54 to be rotated so that the teeth thereof mesh with the teeth on the drive gear 50 (FIG. 7). A record changing cycle is thereby initiated and progress in the manner described above.

The operation of the last record shutoff mechanism will now be described.

During a record changing cycle and as was hereinbefore described, when the cycling slide 96 is at its innermost position corresponding to a one half revolution of the cycling gear 54, the slide finger 112 pushes against the ejector lever 38 to cause a record to be dropped from the spindle shelf 36 to the turntable 22. If this is the last record supported on the shelf, then when the record is dropped to the turntable, the stabilizing arm 40 will drop from the position shown for example in FIG. 9, to a lower position as shown in FIG. 10 wherein the lower end of the stab shaft 44 is resting on the top surface of the cycling slide 96. As the cycling operation continues and the cycling slide moves towards its outward position, the stabilizing arm drops to a still lower position wherein the lower end of the stab shaft 44 is alongside the cycling slide 96 and adjacent a corner edge 164 thereof.

After the playing of the last record and when the cycling slide starts its inward excursion during the next cycling operation, the cycling slide will be urged sideways against the bias of spring 166 by the cam action of the stab shaft 44 against the slide edge 164 (FIG. 7 At the same time a corner edge 168 of the index lever 66 will, under the control of the cam follower 70, be brought into abutment with a larger diameter portion 170 of the stab shaft 44 now in its lowered position (FIG. 8). This halts further pivoting of the index lever 66 so as to prevent the index lever tab 74 from contacting one of the steps of the size selector 62 and the coupled tone arm lever from laterally moving the tone arm toward the turntable.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 7, 8 and 10, the shutoff lever 138 has a dependent arm 172 received in a generally rectangular cutout 174 in the cycling slide 96. During the inward excursion of the slide and due to a sideward shift of the slide by the stab shaft 44, the shutoff lever arm 172 will be aligned with a shoulder edge 176 of the cycling slide'cutout 174. As the cycling slide then moves outward to complete the change cycle, the slide shoulder edge 176 is caused to bear against the lever arm 172 moving the shutoff lever 138 backward so that the control lever edge 152 is disengaged from the shutoff lever second stop projection 156. The control lever is thereby pulled by the force of the spring 150 back toward the shutoff lever first stop projection 154 which is the changer OFF posi tion. The backward movement of the control lever 134 also forces the switch mover up the cam surface 157 which electrically shuts the changer motor off.

Iclaim:

1. In a phonograph record changer of the type including a motorboard supporting a rotatable turntable, a tone arm one end of which is supported on a rotatable shaft extending through said motorboard, and means for electrically energizing said phonograph record changer to effect rotation of said turntable, the improvement comprising:

a cycling slide positioned beneath said motorboard;

means coupled to said slide and responsive to the rotation of said turntable for causing said slide to be reciprocatingly moved in a direction toward and away from the central axis of said turntable during a record changing cycle of operation, said cycling slide during at least a portion of its movement coacting with means operable to effect vertical and rotational dis lacementpf said tone arm; shift means responsive o the playing of a last record on said turntable for causing said cycling slide to be shifted sideways during its reciprocating excursion in the record changing cycle following the playing of a last record on said turntable; and

shutoff means coupled to said electrically energizing means and responsive to said sideways movement of said cycling slide for causing said phonograph record changer to be electrically deenergized.

2. A phonograph record changer as defined in claim 1 wherein said shift means includes a record stabilizing arm having a shaft portion extending below said motorboard in a position to engage said cycling slide and cause it to be shifted sideways during the record changing cycle following the playing of a last record on said turntable.

3. A phonograph record changer as defined in claim 2 wherein said shutoff means includes a lever positioned to engage said cycling slide and be moved to a position to deenergization of said phonograph record changer in response to a sideways shift of said cycling slide.

4. A phonograph record changer as defined in claim 1 and further including:

index means responsive to the rotation of said turntable during a record changing cycle of operation and adapted to coupled to said tone arm shaft for rotation thereof to effect an inward horizontal displacement of said tone arm free end; and

record size selection means mounted beneath said motorboard concentric with said tone arm shaft and having a plurality of manually selectable steps for determining the inward horizontal displacement of said tone arm free end; and

said index means being further adapted to engage a selected one of said steps to limit the tone arm rotation and thereby effect a desired inward horizontal displacement of said tone arm free end. 

